Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #287 :: January 22•28

A wide variety of movies made their debuts this week across the decades, some well-known, many not, some featuring actors who would later be known by more familiar names, some with roles that were recast one … or more … times. Only one 1926 film is known to exist in its entirety. A 1936 movie was later retitled for television because of a theatrical remake. A 1946 film had to change its lead character’s ‘occupation’ due to censorship demands. A 1956 flop went on to become a beloved classic, and another is considered its director’s forgotten epic. A 1966 film was inspired by a popular secret agent film series, but failed to earn the same success. A 1986 film got some Oscar recognition, while a 1996 film may have led to its lead actor’s decision to ‘retire’ from acting. A 2006 film insulted the institution it was depicting, and a 2016 film took a year to complete due to its extensive special effects. Scroll down to see all of the films that premiered this week over the last century, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1926  •  1936  •  1946  •  1956  •  1966  •  1976  •  1986  •  1996  •  2006  •  2016

1926

January 22 – The Man Upstairs (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Cast: Monte Blue, Dorothy Devore, Helen Dunbar, John Roche
• Director: Roy Del Ruth
• Trivia: The film is considered lost.

January 24 – Born to Battle (USA, Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation)

• Cast: Tom Tyler, Jean Arthur, Ray Childs, Fred Gamble, Frankie Darro
• Director: Robert De Lacey
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

January 24 – Fifth Avenue (USA, Belasco Productions)

• Cast: Marguerite De La Motte, Allan Forrest, Louise Dresser, William V. Mong, Crauford Kent, Anna May Wong
• Director: Robert G. Vignola
• Trivia: The film is considered lost.

January 24 – Queen o’Diamonds (USA, Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation)

• Cast: Evelyn Brent, Elsa Lorimer, Phillips Smalley, William Bailey, Theodore von Eltz, Edward Peil
• Director: Chester Withey
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

January 24 – The First Year (USA, Fox Film Corporation)

• Cast: Matt Moore, Kathryn Perry, John Patrick, Frank Currier, Frank Cooley
• Director: Frances Marion
• Trivia: Prints of the film exist at the Museum of Modern Art and the George Eastman Museum.

January 24 – The Reckless Lady (USA, First National Pictures)

• Cast: Belle Bennett, James Kirkwood, Lois Moran, Lowell Sherman, Ben Lyon
• Director: Howard Higgin
• Trivia: The film is considered lost.

January 24 – Western Pluck (USA, Blue Streak Western)

• Cast: Art Acord, Marceline Day, Ray Ripley, Robert Rose, William Welsh
• Director: Travers Vale
• Trivia: The film’s survival status is unknown.

January 25 – The Moth of Moonbi (AUS, Australian Film Productions)

• Cast: Marsden Hassall, Doris Ashwin, Arthur Tauchert, Charles O’Mara, Michael Dwyer
• Director: Charles Chauvel
• Trivia: The film has no known US theatrical release date. It was the first feature-length film made in Queensland. Only a portion of the film exists today.

January 28 – Every Mother’s Son (London, Britannia Films)

• Cast: Rex Davis, Frederick Cooper, Jean Jay, Moore Marriott, Alf Goddard
• Director: Robert Cullen
• Trivia: The film was released nationwide in the UK on November 8, 1926. It has no known US theatrical release date. The survival status is unknown.

1936

January 22 – Collegiate (USA, Paramount Pictures)

• Cast: Joe Penner, Jack Oakie, Ned Sparks, Frances Langford, Betty Grable
• Director: Ralph Murphy
• Trivia: Remake of 1921 silent, The Charm School.

January 22 – Sunset of Power (USA, Buck Jones Productions)

• Cast: Buck Jones, Dorothy Dix, Charles Middleton, Donald Kirke, Ben Corbett
• Director: Ray Taylor

January 24 – Anything Goes (USA, Paramount Pictures)

• Cast: Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Charles Ruggles, Ida Lupino, Grace Bradley, Arthur Treacher, Margaret Dumont
• Director: Lewis Milestone
• Trivia: Based on the 1934 stage musical Anything Goes by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, which included songs by Cole Porter. The film was retitled Tops Is the Limit for television, because the 1956 version of Anything Goes was running in theaters at that time.

January 24 – I Conquer the Sea! (USA, Helperin Pictures)

• Cast: Steffi Duna, Stanley Morner, Douglas Walton, George Cleveland
• Director: Victor Halperin
• Trivia: Credited actor Stanley Morner was the real name of the actor who would later adopt the screen name Dennis Morgan.

January 24 – Tough Guy (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

• Cast: Jackie Cooper, Joseph Calleia, Rin Tin Tin, Jr., Harvey Stephens, Jean Hersholt
• Director: Chester Franklin

January 25 – Valley of the Lawless (USA, Supreme Pictures)

• Cast: Johnny Mack Brown, Joyce Compton, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Frank Hagney, Dennis Moore
• Director: Robert North Bradbury

January 27 – Crime Unlimited (UK, Warner Brothers-First National Productions)

• Cast: Esmond Knight, Lilli Palmer, Cecil Parker, George Merritt
• Director: Ralph Ince
• Trivia: The film first opened in London on August 1, 1935, and made its US premiere on Turner Classic Movies on September 24, 2007. The film marks the English-language debut of Lilli Palmer.

January 27 – I’ll Name the Murderer (USA, C.C. Burr Productions)

• Cast: Ralph Forbes, Marion Schilling, Malcolm McGregor, James Guilfoyle, John Cowell
• Director: Raymond K. Johnson
• Trivia: Final film of Marion Schilling.

January 27 – On Top of the World (London, Basil Humphrys Productions)

• Cast: Betty Fields, Frank Pettingell, Leslie Bradley, Ben Field, Wally Patch
• Director: Redd Davis
• Trivia: Opened nationwide in the UK on July 27, 1936, but has no known US theatrical release date. The film had been intended to star Betty Fields’ sister Gracie.

January 27 – Roarin’ Guns (USA, Excelsior Pictures)

• Cast: Tim McCoy, Rosalinda Price, Wheeler Oakman, Rex Lease, John Elliott
• Director: Sam Newfield

1946

January 22 – The Scarlet Horseman (USA, serial, Universal Pictures)

• Cast: Peter Cookson, Paul Guilfoyle, Janet Shaw, Virginia Christine, Victoria Horne, Cy Kendall
• Directors: Lewis D. Collins, Ray Taylor
• Trivia: The serial had 13 chapters, with each chapter opening with narration by Milburn Stone, later known for his role on Gunsmoke.

January 24 – A Close Call for Boston Blackie (USA, Columbia Pictures)

• Cast: Chester Morris, Lynn Merrick, Richard Lane, Frank Sully, George E. Stone
• Director: Lew Landers
• Trivia: The 10th of 14 Boston Blackie films from Columbia Pictures.

January 24 – Because of Him (USA, Universal Pictures)

• Cast: Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Helen Broderick, Stanley Ridges
• Director: Richard Wallace
• Trivia: The film was announced as Catherine the Last, but the title was changed in August 1945. Durbin was pregnant with her first child when production started.

January 24 – Colonel Effingham’s Raid (USA, 20th Century Fox)

• Cast: Charles Coburn, Joan Bennett, William Eythe, Allyn Joslyn, Elizabeth Patterson
• Director: Irving Pichel
• Trivia: The film’s UK title is Man of the Hour. It is also known as Berry Fleming’s Colonel Effingham’s Raid, Everything’s Peaches Down in Georgia and Rebel Yell.

January 25 – Death Mills (Germany, Office of Military Government in Germany-U.S. Army Signal Corps)

• Director: Hanuš Burger, Billy Wilder
• Trivia: The German version of the film, Die Todesmühlen, was intended to educate German audiences about the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. Wilder was credited for the American version but later said there was nothing for him to direct, serving more as an editor.

January 25 – Gay Blades (USA, Republic Pictures)

• Cast: Allan Lane, Jean Rogers, Edward Ashley, Frank Albertson, Ann Gillis, Robert Armstrong
• Director: George Blair

January 25 – Kitty (USA, Paramount Pictures)

• Cast: Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Patric Knowles, Reginald Owen, Cecil Kellaway
• Director: Mitchell Leisen
• Trivia: The story is a broad interpretation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. In the original novel, by Rosamond Marshall, Kitty was a prostitute. The censor board ruled she would have to die at the end as punishment if it stood as is, so it was changed to make Kitty a pickpocket.

January 25 – Whistle Stop (USA, Nero Films)

• Cast: George Raft, Ava Gardner, Victor McLaglen, Tom Conway, Jorja Curtright
• Director: Léonide Moguy
• Trivia: Gardner was borrowed from MGM, and Conway was borrowed from RKO. An arcade skill game, Whistle Stop, released in 2000 was inspired by the film, and borrowed multiple sound effects from the film.

January 26 – Drifting Along (USA, Great Western Productions)

• Cast: Johnny Mack Brown, Lynne Carver, Raymond Hatton, Douglas Fowley, Smith Ballew, Milburn Morante
• Director: Derwin Abrahams

January 26 – Meet Me on Broadway (USA, Columbia Pictures)

• Cast: Marjorie Reynolds, Frederick Brady, Jinx Falkenburg, Spring Byington, Allen Jenkins, Gene Lockhart
• Director: Leigh Jason

January 26 – My Reputation (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Warner Anderson, Lucile Watson, John Ridgely, Eve Arden
• Director: Curtis Bernhardt
• Trivia: Edith Head was the designer for Stanwyck’s costumes.

January 26 – The Phantom Rider (USA, serial, Republic Pictures)

• Cast: Robert Kent, Peggy Stewart, LeRoy Mason, George J. Lewis, Kenne Duncan, Chief Thundercloud
• Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet, Fred C. Brannon
• Trivia: The serial was re-released in 1954 as Ghost Riders of the West.

January 27 – A Guy Could Change (USA, Republic Pictures)

• Cast: Allan Lane, Jane Frazee, Twinkle Watts, Bobby Blake, Wallace Ford
• Director: William K. Howard
• Trivia: Final film for director Howard. Child actor Bobby Blake would later be known as Robert Blake.

January 28 – Three Strangers (USA, Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Cast: Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre, Joan Lorring, Robert Shayne
• Director: Jean Negulesco
• Trivia: John Huston co-wrote the screenplay. The original title was Three Men and a Girl, with Bette Davis and George Brent intended to star. At one point it was meant to be a sort-of sequel to The Maltese Falcon, but the rights to the characters had reverted to Dashiell Hammett.

1956

January 26 – Helen of Troy (US/UK, Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Cast: Rossana Podestà, Jacques Sernas, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Stanley Baker, Niall MacGinnis, Harry Andrews, Brigitte Bardot
• Director: Robert Wise
• Trivia: The film was to be made in 3D, but was switched to WarnerSuperScope and released in CinemaScope. It was Bardot’s first film project outside of France. The movie has been called ‘a forgotten Robert Wise epic.’

January 27 – The Court Jester (USA, Dena Enterprises)

• Cast: Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker, Mildred Natwick, Herbert Rudley, John Carradine
• Directors: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank
• Trivia: The film was not successful upon its release, but has become a beloved classic over time, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2004.

January 27 – The Flying Sorceress (USA, short, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

• Cast: Margaret Chloe, June Foray, William Hanna, Bob Laztny, Jack Sabel
• Director: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
• Trivia: The 99th Tom & Jerry animated short.

January 28 – Hell on Frisco Bay (USA, Jaguar Productions)

• Cast: Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, Joanne Dru, William Demarest, Paul Stewart, Fay Wray, Jayne Mansfield
• Director: Frank Tuttle
• Trivia: The film features an early appearance by Australian actor Rod Taylor, credited as Rodney. Robinson was unhappy being second billed to Ladd and called the film ‘Hell in Beverly Hills’. Stuntman Louis Tomei suffered a severe head injury during a fight scene and died in hospital later in the evening.

1966

January 26 – Where the Spies Are (USA, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

• Cast: David Niven, Françoise Dorléac, John Le Mesurier, Cyril Cusack, Eric Pohlmann, Richard Marner
• Director: Val Guest
• Trivia: Original title was Passport to Oblivion, which was the name of the novel upon which the screenplay was based, but MGM insisted on the title change due to the success of the James Bond films, hoping to produce a series of films featuring the character Jason Love.

January 27 – Moment to Moment (USA, Mervyn LeRoy Productions Inc)

• Cast: Jean Seberg, Honor Blackman, Sean Garrison, Arthur Hill, Grégoire Aslan
• Director: Mervyn LeRoy
• Trivia: Before Seberg was cast, candidates for the lead included Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews. Blackman was cast based on her performance in Goldfinger. Costumes were provided by Yves Saint Laurent.

1976

January 24 – Youthquake! (USA, documentary, Max B. Miller)

• Cast: MMike Corry, Alan Fisher, Thom Graves, Rick Hill
• Director: Max B. Miller, Bob Grant
• Trivia: Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Documentary Film.

January 27 – The Four Deuces (USA, AmeriEuro Pictures Corp.)

• Cast: Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Warren Berlinger, Adam Roarke, Gianni Russo, Martin Kove, Carl Weathers
• Director: William H. Bushnell

1986

January 24 – Defence of the Realm (UK, Enigma Productions)

• Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Fulton Mackay, Robbie Coltrane, Danny Webb
• Director: David Drury
• Trivia: First opened in London on January 3, 1986, and was released in the US on November 21, 1986 as Defense of the Realm. The plot mirrors the real-life British spy scandal known as the Profumo affair. Denholm Elliott won his third consecutive BAFTA for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

January 24 – My Chauffeur (USA, Marimark Productions)

• Cast: Deborah Foreman, Sam J. Jones, Sean McClory, Howard Hesseman, E.G. Marshall, Penn Jillette, Teller, Robin Antin
• Director: David Beaird

January 24 – The Trip to Bountiful (USA, FilmDallas-Bountiful Film Partners)

• Cast: Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford, Rebecca De Mornay
• Director: Peter Masterson
• Trivia: Page won the Oscar for Best Actress, and author Horton Foote was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.

1996

January 22 – American Job (USA, Bluemark Productions)

• Cast: Randy Russell
• Director: Chris Smith
• Trivia: Smith’s first film. The film was directly inspired by the 1987 magazine ‘American Job’ created by Randy Russell.

January 24 – Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills (USA, PFG Entertainment)

• Cast: Beverly D’Angelo, Aron Eisenberg, Barry Humphries, Brion James, Stephen McHattie, Ruta Lee, Moon Zappa
• Director: Philippe Mora
• Trivia: Humphries plays three characters in the same grocery store scene, including ‘Lady Shopper’, who is clearly his character Dame Edna Everage.

January 26 – Bed of Roses (USA, Juno Pix)

• Cast: Christian Slater, Mary Stuart Masterson, Pamela Segall, Josh Brolin, Debra Monk, Mary Alice, Ally Walker
• Director: Michael Goldenberg
• Trivia: Pamela Segall would later be known as Pamela Adlon.

January 26 – Big Bully (USA, Morgan Creek Entertainment-Lee Rich Productions)

• Cast: Rick Moranis, Tom Arnold, Julianne Phillips, Carol Kane, Jeffrey Tambor, Curtis Armstrong, Faith Prince, Don Knotts
• Director: Steve Miner
• Trivia: The film was a box office bomb, and the last onscreen role for Moranis before his extended hiatus from acting.

January 26 – Margaret’s Museum (US, National Film Board of Canada)

• Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Clive Russell, Craig Olejnik, Kate Nelligan, Kenneth Welsh, Andrea Morris
• Director: Mort Ransen
• Trivia: Nominated for 11 Genie Awards, winning six including acting awards for Bonham Carter, Welsh and Nelligan.

January 26 – Once Upon a Time…When We Were Colored (USA, BET Pictures-United Image Entertainment)

• Cast: Al Freeman Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Leon, Paula Kelly, Anna Maria Horsford, Bernie Casey, Isaac Hayes, Taj Mahal, Polly Bergen, Richard Roundtree, Daphne Maxwell Reid
• Director: Tim Reid
• Trivia: Based on Clifton Taulbert’s real life and his non-fiction book of the same title.

January 26 – Screamers (USA, Fuji Eight Company Ltd.-Fries Film Group)

• Cast: Peter Weller, Jennifer Rubin, Andrew Lauer, Ron White
• Director: Christian Duguay
• Trivia: Writer Dan O’Bannon had completed the screenplay in 1981, but the project languished in development hell for a decade. He was unaware the film was even made until his agent notified him about the writing credit. O’Bannon said most of the plot and characters from his screenplay were retained, but much of the dialogue was changed. The film was nominated for three Genie Awards.

January 26 – The Innocent Sleep (UK, Timedial Films)

• Cast: Rupert Graves, Hilary Crowson, Annabella Sciorra, Michael Gambon, Franco Nero, John Hannah
• Director: Scott Michell
• Trivia: The film opened in the US on June 27, 1997. The film is inspired by the Roberto Calvi murder.

2006

January 27 – Annapolis (USA/Canada, Mother B Productions)

• Cast: James Franco, Tyrese Gibson, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Roger Fan, Wilmer Calderon, Chi McBride
• Director: Justin Lin
• Trivia: Due to the script’s inaccurate depiction of the US Naval Academy’s training, production was not granted access to film on location in Annapolis. Filming took place in the decommissioned Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and at Royal Naval College, Greenwich in the UK.

January 27 – Big Momma’s House 2 (USA/Canada/AUS, Deep River Productions)

• Cast: Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Emily Procter, Kat Dennings, Chloë Grace Moretz, Preston Shores, Trevor Shores, Marisol Nichols
• Director: John Whitesell
• Trivia: Nominated for a Golden Raspberry Awards in 2006 in the category Worst Prequel or Sequel, but lost to Basic Instinct 2.

January 27 – Nanny McPhee (USA/Canada, Working Title Productions-Three Strange Angels)

• Cast: Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Thomas Sangster, Kelly Macdonald, Angela Lansbury, Eliza Bennett, Raphaël Coleman, Imelda Staunton, Derek Jacobi
• Director: Kirk Jones
• Trivia: First opened in the UK on October 21, 2005. Emma Thompson also wrote the screenplay. Thompson, Firth and Sangster all appeared in Love Actually in 2003. Filming prevented Thompson from reprising the role of Frasier Crane’s first wife on an episode of Frasier, so the role was played by Laurie Metcalf.

January 28 – Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst (USA, documentary, Becker Entertainment)

• Cast: Felicity Price, Judi Farr, Peter Whitford
• Director: Gillian Armstrong
• Trivia: Also known as A Colourful Life, the documentary uses actors to portray fashion designer Broadhurst.

2016

January 22 – Synchronicity (USA, limited, Soapbox Films-POP Films)

• Cast: Chad McKnight, A. J. Bowen, Brianne Davis, Scott Poythress, Michael Ironside
• Director: Jacob Gentry
• Trivia: Premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 22, 2015.

January 23 – Kung Fu Panda 3 (China, DreamWorks Animation)

• Cast: Jack Black, J. K. Simmons, Bryan Cranston, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Kate Hudson, Wayne Knight
• Directors: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Alessandro Carloni
• Trivia: Opened in the US and Canada on January 29, 2016. NBC News personalities Al Roker and Willie Geist provide the voices for Dim and Sum, respectively. Angelina Jolie’s children Pax, Knox, Zahara and Shiloh also have voice roles. J.K. Simmons replaced the announced Mads Mikkelsen, requiring a rewrite of the character General Kai. Kate Hudson replaced Rebel Wilson five months after her casting due to the extended production schedule. Already produced scenes with Wilson’s character had to be reanimated to fit Hudson’s performance.

January 26 – Looking for Grace (AUS, Unicorn Films-Taylor Media-Palace Films)

• Cast: Radha Mitchell, Richard Roxburgh, Myles Pollard, Terry Norris, Odessa Young
• Director: Sue Brooks
• Trivia: Outside of film festival screenings, Looking for Grace has no known US theatrical release date. First film by a female Australian director to screen at the Venice International Film Festival in 15 years.

January 27 – Jane Got a Gun (France, 1821 Pictures)

• Cast: Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Noah Emmerich, Rodrigo Santoro, Ewan McGregor
• Director: Gavin O’Connor
• Trivia: Michael Fassbender was to have played Portman’s character’s ex-lover, but he had to leave the film due to schedule conflicts with X-Men: Days of Future Past. Edgerton was already cast as the film’s villain, but was given Fassbender’s role and Jude Law was cast as the villain. Director Lynne Ramsay then left the project, replaced by Gavin O’Connor, and Law left the picture as he had signed to work with Ramsay. Law was replaced with Bradley Cooper, but he then had conflicts with American Hustle and was replaced with Ewan McGregor.

January 27 – The Finest Hours (Belgium, Whitaker Entertainment)

• Cast: Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Holliday Grainger, Eric Bana, Graham McTavish, Kyle Gallner, Abraham Benrubi, Keiynan Lonsdale
• Director: Craig Gillespie
• Trivia: Released in the US and Canada on January 29, 2016. Based on Casey Sherman & Michael Tougias’ 2009 book, The Finest Hours: The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue. Post-production lasted a year with nearly 1,000 visual effects required.

January 28 – Fifty Shades of Black (Argentina, Wayans Alvarez Productions)

• Cast: Marlon Wayans, Kali Hawk, Jenny Zigrino, Jane Seymour, Fred Willard, Mike Epps, Florence Henderson
• Director: Michael Tiddes
• Trivia: Released in the US and Canada on January 29, 2016. This was Henderson’s last film before her death on November 24, 2016. The film received universally negative reviews, but was a hit, grossing $22 million on a $5 million budget. It received two Golden Raspberry Awards nominations for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel and Worst Supporting Actress (Seymour).